UN mission in Central African Republic condemns violence

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in the Central African Republic has strongly condemned the violence that resulted in loss of life and population displacement in the northwest of the country, a UN spokesman said Thursday.

According to preliminary reports, armed men of the Revolution Justice group attacked Muslim neighborhoods in the city of Paoua on New Year's Eve. Following the intervention of UN peacekeepers, tensions had decreased by the next day, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

However, the presence of armed group members in the city is preventing a return to normalcy, he said.

The UN mission has sent reinforcements and multiplied patrols in the city to better prevent attacks against civilians, said Haq. Enditem